January 2010 Visionary - International Guide Dog Federation

USA | Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind, IncFreedom Guide Dogs – Training Center & KennelThe Journeyfor FreedomThe expansion of Freedom Guide Dogsand its plans for future growthNicole White – Director of Development &John Byfield – Director of TrainingFreedom Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., USAIn 1992, Freedom Guide Dogsfor the Blind was born and adream was realized; a differentapproach to guide dog trainingthat delivered services right tothe blind person’s home.Founders, Eric and SharonLoori, called it ‘HometownTraining’ and it customizedtraining to the client’s personalneeds while making guide dogservices more accessible tothose in need.Through the years, Freedom has grownfrom its humble beginnings as a singlebuilding facility with five dogs, into alarge kennel, housing 20 dogs, and apuppy enrichment center completewith puppy maze and training tools. In2004, Freedom became an accreditedmember of the International Guide DogFederation. We currently have morethan 140 clients throughout theNortheastern United States and in 2008we placed 18 guide dogs with newclients. Freedom’s costs to produce aguide dog team are also some of thelowest in the US guide dog industry.In April of 2009, as part of itscommitment to expansion, Freedomwelcomed John Byfield, worldrenowned guide dog trainer and longtimefriend of Eric Loori. John began hiscareer 51 years ago when heapprenticed with the Guide Dogs forthe Blind Association in England. In1964, he came to the United States,where he developed and managedtraining programs for the Guide DogFoundation in New York and the fidelcoGuide Dog Foundation in Connecticut,respectively.John’s many years of experienceboast a long list of credentials whichinclude the training and supervision ofmore than 1,000 guide dog teams andthe development of the first ‘incommunity’training program in theU.S. John is also an assessor for theInternational Guide Dog Federation. InJune 2008, John received the prestigiousKen Lord award from the InternationalGuide Dog Federation, whichacknowledged his contributions to thedomestic and international guide dogcommunities. John is recognized asbeing the longest serving, active guidedog instructor in the world.In addition to hiring John, Freedomplans to expand in all other aspects ofthe organization. Two apprentices havebeen hired to work under John and tostudy the intricacies of guide dogtraining as well as working with theblind and visually impaired.In 2009 Freedom expected to place25 guide dogs with steady increases inguide dog production for future years.In pushing forward with growth inplacements, Freedom has also decidedto offer its services to qualifying blindteenagers.In focusing on the future of FreedomGuide Dogs, Sharon Loori, head of thebreeding program, will increase thenumber of puppies produced each yearas well as the number of puppy raiservolunteers. Two potential smoothcoated collie breeders have beenacquired in order to produce moreguides of that particular breed.Labradors will continue to account formost of the trained guides.Eric Loori, Executive Director/Trainer,will focus on providing guide dogs toblind and visually impaired people withspecial needs. Recently, he had greatsuccess placing a guide dog with JamesFair, a wounded Iraq War veteran whois blind and missing part of both hisarms. Eric has also worked with blindclients who have additional disabilitiesincluding Cerebral Palsy, Down’ssyndrome and deafness.For more information aboutFreedom Guide Dogs and its servicesplease visit our website:www.freedomguidedogs.org.Issue 15 | January 10 | 13